Giant Kingfisher (South Africa)

[Dorian Anderson]

This bird, the world's largest kingfisher, was perched on a concrete dam near Lower Sabie Rest Camp in Kruger National Park. I didn't want the man-mad element in the frame, so I inched the vehicle forward for the desired headshot. The bird cooperated throughout, and I had time to close down to f/9 (and correspondingly up the ISO) to maintain depth-of-field. The high-key background is the reflection of gray sky on water below the bird.

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/320 at f/9, ISO 2500
Processed in LR CC and Topaz. Nothing added or cloned.

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[Paul Burdett]

Certainly an interesting Kingfisher Dorian. Love the detail here, and it really pops against the white BG. Would like to have seen the whole bird...do you have any? Cheers.

[Ian McLachlan]

You have as usual done very well with this bird .I particularly like the detail in all the feathers which you produced at f9. My only slight hesitation is because I am biased, but I think the Laughing Kookaburra is the largest kingfisher in the world by a few ounces and almost certainly the loudest as they wake us up in the early morning,.

[Dorian Anderson]

You have as usual done very well with this bird .I particularly like the detail in all the feathers which you produced at f9. My only slight hesitation is because I am biased, but I think the Laughing Kookaburra is the largest kingfisher in the world by a few ounces and almost certainly the loudest as they wake us up in the early morning,.

You might be right about the size. And you're certainly right about the noise; I experienced the racket when I was camping down there in 2010!

[Dorian Anderson]

Certainly an interesting Kingfisher Dorian. Love the detail here, and it really pops against the white BG. Would like to have seen the whole bird...do you have any? Cheers.

Thanks for the kind words, Paul. I don't have any of the whole bird. I'd rather have a detailed headshot without any man-made stuff than a whole body with any man-made stuff. No best way to do it as it's all
personal preference, right?

[Brian Sump]

Dorian, you composed a sweet one here. The black and darker neutrals really pop in the high key creation.

You comp choice is spot-on and I love the richness in the tones. Sweet head angle just toward the lens too.

My only gripe is that there is some odd graininess in the back and beak especially. Not sure what happened but may warrant some extra love in those areas.

A treat to see these great species, please keep them coming!

[Dorian Anderson]

Dorian, you composed a sweet one here. The black and darker neutrals really pop in the high key creation.

You comp choice is spot-on and I love the richness in the tones. Sweet head angle just toward the lens too.

My only gripe is that there is some odd graininess in the back and beak especially. Not sure what happened but may warrant some extra love in those areas.

A treat to see these great species, please keep them coming!

I was thinking there was something wrong with the beak, but I couldn't put my finger on it. At your suggestion, I revisited the image. I think the artifact you noted
was introduced in Topaz. I'm not sure how -- maybe I bumped a setting -- but I think this rework is a modest improvement. Composition has changed ever-so-slightly,
and I removed a few of the irregularities on the beak since I was paying that feature a bit more attention. Editing at home is easy since I get like one shot a month, but I
think I must have put this through my process too quickly given the backlog of Africa images behind it! Plus I wouldn't bother going out in light like this at home! Cheers!

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[Brian Sump]

Definitely better on the rework Dorian!